From NY Times

[trainlies]

Feel Free to Take Notes, Mr. Woodward
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON

Published: July 23, 2004


n Wednesday night it was sweltering outside Henri Bendel, where the store unveiled a window display of cat suits inspired by the movie "CATWOMAN."

This was pretty much the only publicity event in New York for the movie, which stars HALLE BERRY and BENJAMIN BRATT, and the guest list was, um, rather eclectic: KEITH RICHARDS's daughters, ALEXANDRA and THEODORA, followed by JASON LEWIS, TONY DANZA and later, Mr. Bratt and his wife, TALISA SOTO.

SHANNEN DOHERTY, in a black dress and stilettos, was escorted down the red carpet by the publisher and celebrity escorter JASON BINN, and the reporters clumped together like oatmeal.

What's in your TiVo, one reporter asked.

"I don't even know what's in my TiVo," Ms. Doherty said. "Oh, 'Who Wants to Marry My Dad?' I'm obsessed with 'Who Wants to Marry My Dad?' "

Which cat suit would you choose?

"I think that they're all unique and beautiful."

How good are you with a whip?

Mr. Binn escorted Ms Doherty inside.

Next was ESTEBAN CORTAZAR, the not-yet-of-drinking-age designer whose contribution was a cat suit with a bustier.

An Australian journalist beside us jockeyed for position, no doubt to ask a "foreign press" question of Mr. Cortazar, something about "political consciousness" or "agricultural subsidies" or "war." We braced, but there, amid the sweat and the publicists, we suddenly witnessed A Moment That Reminded Us Why We Keep Doing This, Day After Day.

"What animal would you dress me as?" asked the reporter.

"I don't know," Mr. Cortazar answered.

Soon, Ms. Berry appeared, looking a little tired but stunning nonetheless in a lacy black Dolce & Gabbana dress, with kibble-size diamonds on her ears, wrists and fingers.

"It's just not about being sexy, you know," Ms. Berry said of her character. "This person is really empowered, and she's got great character and great strength, and sexiness is just a part of it."

A reporter then asked if she had any second thoughts about this sort of role, referring specifically to the posters where Ms. Berry is in a very unempowered stance, crawling on all fours. Ms. Berry bristled a little.

"I never thought of all fours. A cat walks on all fours, so I was very committed to bringing this character to life and being as catlike as I could. I never thought of anything degrading about being on all fours."

EARTHA KITT and MICHELLE PFEIFFER were paid homage to; the designer cat suits were praised. Then it was time for last questions, before Ms. Berry went to the V.I.P. area, where she would spend the evening being photographed by a gaggle of enthusiastic, middle-aged men. So:

"What's the worst Halloween costume you've ever seen?" asked a reporter.

"I don't know," Ms. Berry answered.

I Am No. 43, Hear Me Roar

Speaking of empowerment, there was nothing more stirring than the sight of all the young women with numbers pinned on their chests outside the Ziegfeld Theater on Wednesday night.

They had nothing to do with the premiere of "Little Black Book," starring BRITTANY MURPHY and RON LIVINGSTON, but were at a nearby hotel for the International Modeling and Talent Agency competition. The movie, a romantic comedy, was an inspiration to many of them, however, like the one who shrieked, "Model in heels!" and ran unsteadily in Ms. Murphy's direction.

Among the premiere crowd, which included Ms. Murphy as well as HOLLY HUNTER and KATHY BATES, Mr. Livingston was, in his own words, "a lone skiff on a sea of estrogen." His fiancée, LISA SHERIDAN, wasn't around when we asked him to reflect on modern relationships:

"I think everybody's experienced now," he said. "People aren't settling down and getting serious until, you know, we're not marrying the first girl that we take to the junior prom anymore. Unless you're Mormon, and then you marry the first six. But I think these days, you pretty much, everybody's got - guys, girls - you've got 3 or 4 or 5 or 10 or 15 or 20 people sort of tucked away somewhere that you're not going to divulge on the first date, but at some point, you know, it's going to come up."


With Paula Schwartz and Melena Z. Ryzik.

[Kristin Marie]

So Jason was just an escoter, good. I thought he was....nothing. Not my business.

I guess she went alone.....

Love and Hugs

Kristin

[trainlies]

[killingheidi]

I hope the Australian journo who was there doesn't come back and print something nasty about Shannen in the paper...

[monstervsangels]

I'm sure he escorted her as a friend, or met up with her at the place. either way I hope she had fun, glad to see no paris hilton.

[Dianna]

Any pictures with this?

By the way what does this mean?

"I don't even know what's in my TiVo," Ms. Doherty said. "Oh, 'Who Wants to Marry My Dad?' I'm obsessed with 'Who Wants to Marry My Dad?' "

[shaed412]

Tivo is like a vcr, but it isnt the actual vcr, it tapes programs into your tv and than you can watch them when you want, as much as you want....it records as many shows as you want...I couldn't do it...I like to have my tapes...lol...God Bless!!!